Winter Storm Stella Hits Northeast

March 15, 2017

NEW YORK—Winter Storm Stella hits the Northeast, leaving snow and ice across the region. While the storm wasn’t as large as projected, municipalities throughout the area report snowfall ranging from roughly 11–40". Meanwhile, seaside areas like central New Jersey cite coastal flooding as a concern, according to the Weather Channel.

While business isn’t at a standstill, numerous companies report impacts from the storm.

“We decided to close our New York office today,” says David Bebon, CEO of DBEBZ Apparel. “At my home in Fairfield, Connecticut we had about 10–12" of snow.”

Bebon adds that most of his Mid-Atlantic and New England customers decided to close because of the storm.

In nearby Massachusetts, MassLive.com reports more than 44,000 customers without power as of March 14. While Boston experienced icy roads, snow accumulations were less than expected, says CNN. Despite the lighter snowfall, some companies report closures due to the hazardous conditions.

“With the impending snowstorm, Charles River Apparel took the necessary steps to prepare by setting up our customer service, inside sales, finance, and marketing teams to work from home so we could keep our employees safe and continue to provide the same level of service to our customers,” says Tracy Lehnen, vice president of marketing. “Our location may be in the Northeast, but we have a lot of customers throughout the U.S. and it’s important we continue to service them as best we can.”

Lehnen adds that shutdowns of UPS and FedEx services impacted delivery times, but the company plans to pack and prepare orders for end of day Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the Mid-Atlantic states, businesses say they took similar steps to limit hazardous travel, but keep customer service and logistics operations online.

“Our number one priority is safety for our workers, so for today’s storm we closed our distribution center,” says Glen Brumer, sales director at New York-based Royal Apparel, adding that customers can still place orders online.

In Pennsylvania, cities like Philadelphia wrangle school closures and flight delays. Penn Emblem marketing coordinator Hilary Valentine states the company maintains a work from home protocol during the storm.

“Penn Emblem is encouraging its employees to stay safe in the inclement weather by allowing them to work from home," Valentine notes.

While the Northeast continues to dig out, colder temperatures result in slippery and icy conditions across the region.